Il viaggio dell'unicorno

Some good eye candies are ruined in this movie by the most outrageous comments I've heard in a children's movie. "When it comes to magic, don't ask too many questions" came out of one child's mouth. The writer's obviously no fan of William Drummond ("He that will not reason is a bigot; he that cannot reason is a fool; he that dares not reason is a slave"). Or how about some Socrates ("There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance").

"Faith precedes miracles" is another gem from the child. But when faith doesn't work, it's fate, or God's will, or a test, or, uh, mysterious ways.

The film also sets up from the start a false dichotomy about reality and magic. That, of course, implies a god of the gaps, and in any case, as Friedrich Nietzsche pointed out, "a casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything."

The funniest thing, though, is that the dad let slip that "snakes are common in mythology." Then the child devalues the library.

Then the dad attempts magic and the daughter an Indian dance. The story ends with the girl saying, "By believing one sees." That's all the evidence anyone has of faith: they must first delude themselves.

This is no children's only movie, this is a movie for everyone, action, adventure, even a little light romance. The scenery is absolutely breathtaking, Vancouver, B.C. has everything! Costuming and makeup was superbly done - kudos to that crew for attention to detail!! (They deserve their Emmy nomination and to win).

The story well told, the characters well developed, beautiful scenery, astounding brilliance all around. I've watched it at least 8 times now and never tire of it, in fact I find myself noticing new things each time. Applause to the entire cast and crew!

Although Beau Bridges is getting a little long in the tooth to play the father of teenagers, much less a swashbuckler, he once again provided us with good entertainment. Thank you Beau. The rest of the cast was up to the job as well. Some,(but not all) of the makeup was a little mask-like, but the overall effect was pretty good. The only low point was a sequence involving the older daughter which looked like a music video produced by a seventh grade drama class. Fortunately it didn't last long enough to make me go for the remote. All in all it is a good watch and a lot of good clean family entertainment. A few parts may be a little scary for the younger kids (Tho I've seen seven year olds play video games that scare ME) but if you explain to them ahead of time that its only a fairy tale they should be o.k.. Its well worth watching. I'll give it a score of eight.

It's great to see a fun, entertaining fantasy story with a positive message of faith and hope. There are many kinds of faith shown in this movie, such as faith in one's self, faith in a higher power, and faith in the goodness of others. Our heroes show a willingness to help others and lift even their enemies to a better way of life.

The sets and costumes didn't quite reach the artistic standard of James Christiansen's beautiful artwork, but they certainly tried. The music and dance elements are nicely done, and the girls' kindness and purity are positively represented. Christiansen's Mormon heritage shows through in the message that "Faith precedes the miracle". Imagination and mythology are used as metaphors for spiritual things, and I loved the message about life after death.

I first saw this movie when I was a teen. This week I decided to give it a second go and review it.

A professor with a positive message is coping with the loss of his wife along with his two daughters. Suddenly they are transported into another fantasy realm on a magical ship where they have to fullfill this magical prophecy.

The props are well done for it's time and budget and especially the trolls and their war vessel are impressive. Only let down is that the (real) lower teeth of the main bad guy troll are clearly visible when he speaks. The ship is also well made, although I find the ship's role and the whole nautical voyage to be a given too little time in the movie, just like the Dawn Treader in Narnia, but hey, that's just me speaking a former seaman.

Unfortunately, there is also plenty of cheese. The glasses of Medusa for example, the fights where Malachi jumps around doing backflips that add nothing at all. Also the main characters are sometimes incredibly dumb. Why did Cassie walk into the Minotaurs lair on her won like that ? Why didn't Medusa use her ability to turn their enemies into stone ? Oh well, maybe I shouldn't overanalyze a TV fantasy film for kids.

So yeah, if you liked The voyage of the Dawn Treader you will enjoy this, but don't expect a hight budget movie for adults.